Umiak Language (ikkukhak)

Data
File Updated:
Monday, February 13, 2012

Umiak
language is very different from the Trade Language used by many
other intelligent species in the Local Bubble. Lacking the
fleshy apparatus required to make the complex vocalizations
necessary for Trade, the Umiak rely on a language of rapid
clicks and ticks. This specialized language is incomprehensible
to most non-Umiak, so the Umiak require mechanical translators
for most of their inter-species communication. Because of the
unusual rambling, out-of-order structure of Umiak language, even
with the aid of translators Umiak sometimes have difficulty
making themselves clearly understood to non-Umiak.

The name of the Umiak language is Romanized as "ikkukhak"
(which is also part of the root for the Umiak's own name for
their species - titik-kititikik-hal-tik-ikkukhak). The word "umiak"
itself is unpronounceable by Umiak. It is a foreign
word of archaic (and disputed) origin that the Umiak do not use themselves.
A consequence of having such an incompatible language is dealing
with the fact that foreigners must invent their own words to
describe one's culture.

Features of the Umiak language:

Just a few basic hard consonants. No vowels or labial
modulations.

Words tend to be a long and repetitive staccato of
clicks and ticks.

Collections of words ramble, without much sentence structure or
punctuation.

Words or phrases are tagged for emphasis and later reference, using a
logical "stack" structure.

The Umiak have no vocal chords, so their language has no
vowels. The vast majority of Umiak is formed with only two basic
sounds: a lateral mandibular click (k), and
a lingual-palatal tick (t). To these are added a few
special-purpose consonants: a sibilant hiss (s), an aspirated
sound (h), a lingual modifier to the aspirated sound (L), a
rasping of the mandibles and tongue that makes a buzzing sound (z), and a 'chitter'
that is a distinct combination of the tick, aspirant, and
buzzing sounds. Also, because the Umiak have two pairs of
lateral mandibles, there is a simultaneous double-click (kk),
that is distinct from two successive clicks.

The clicking sound of Umiak speech is quite loud. An Umiak
can "whisper" by making the mandibular contacts softer, but
can't really "shout." The loudest sounds an Umiak can make, the
hiss and chitter, are used as emotional suffixes and
interjections. The hiss indicates intensity of feeling, and the
chitter indicates approval (the closest Umiak equivalent to a
smile; a repeated chitter is something across between applause
and laughter).

Written Umiak uses characters composed of wedge-shaped marks.
It is written left to right, but is often displayed on its side,
with the tops of the characters pointing to the right. The
script has a look very similar to Cuneiform (used in ancient
Mesopotamia), and was
probably developed in a similar way, with the Umiak using their
clawed fingertips to make marks in clay or other soft material.

These basic marks are aggregated into larger
characters that can represent literal phonetic words, or more
abstract tokens.

"We (of the) species Hal-Tik Umiak posit"

Romanizations in the comic break words with
hyphens and use inserted vowels (ki
for k, kku for kk, kha for kh)
to help make the words more readable for human eyes;
kktk for example is written as kikitik. The
mechanical translators that the Umiak use actually do include
these vowel vocalizations in untranslated words such as proper
nouns.

The Umiak numeric system is a simple binary
representation, with click representing 1 and tick representing
0. Archaic Umiak has abstracted tokens for larger values, and the
symbols for these are sometimes used as shortcuts instead of the
full binary representations.

Grammar

Umiak language is light on structural rules.
Words are delivered in long streams of thought in sometimes
confusing order. These streams are not divided into clear
sentences, and there is no real punctuation. Instead, the
keyword tikiks ("posit") is used to mark a previous word
or phrase for emphasis, and also so that it can be referred to later. This is
the infamous Umiak "stack" construct. A speaker can mark
multiple sets of phrases in this manner, and the listener is
expected to remember them and keep track of their order. In
essence, these phrases are "pushed" on to a logical stack with
the "posit" keyword, and "popped" off later. The "pop" operation
is accomplished through the use of the buzzing ("z") sound. The
speaker may refer to the phrase on the top of stack while
leaving it there (z), or refer to the top phrase and
remove it from further consideration (zs). The speaker
may also refer to any item on the stack (z+[number],
where [number] is the distance from the top of the stack).

The most straightforward use of the stack is to
mention a long and complex item such as a full name, and then
save time and effort by just referring to it later without
having to restate it. This is not very different from English
use of pronouns. However, an Umiak speaker will at times throw
out many subjects and phrases without any context or clear
order, mark each and push them on to the stack, and then
variously refer to them at later points throughout the
conversation. In long conversations, this stack may grow to
hundreds of items, and the reference number for an item changes
every time something is added or removed. As one might expect,
this language construct requires superb attention to detail and
accurate memory, along with the ability to do arithmetic
flawlessly in one's head. A speaker may deliberately challenge
the listener's intellect by intentionally adding and removing a
dizzying array of subjects to and from the stack, and then
barraging the listener with references. This might be done by an
intellectual snob to test his audience's comprehension, or as a
method of confusing an eavesdropper with limited comprehension
skills (kind of like spelling out a word to confuse a small
child). Naturally, this construct makes comprehension more
difficult for aliens, and can at times throw off even mechanical
translators.

Miscellaneous

The staccato consonants of Umiak language have a rhythmic flow.
Umiak "poetry" uses artistic variations in tempo
similar to music, as well as creative (or confusing) uses of
posits and references. Umiak music is percussion heavy, and the
beats often follow a decipherable language pattern, avoiding the
need for the Umiak to "sing" the lyrics.